United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that Robert M. Schaefer, 65, of Sacramento, was arrested today after a federal grand jury returned a one-count indictment on Thursday, February 9, 2012, charging him with distribution of child pornography.

According to the indictment, between 2008 and 2009, Schaefer used the Internet to distribute images of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Court documents show that Schaefer uploaded thousands of images of children being exploited, including children under 10 years of age to various file-sharing websites and that he would surf the Internet looking for people seeking particular types of photos, which he would then share from his extensive collection. The investigation against Schaefer began after the German Federal Criminal Police discovered Schaefer’s uploaded files and brought the case to the attention of United States law enforcement.

Schaefer was arraigned today before United States Magistrate Judge Kendall J. Newman and pleaded not guilty. His next court appearance is scheduled for March 29, 2012 before United States District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. Schaefer was released today on a $25,000 bond.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Sacramento FBI Cyber Crimes unit and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Innocent Images International Task Force. The task force brings together law enforcement officers from around the world to address the global crime problem of online child exploitation. The task force allows for the real-time transfer of information from and to the FBI and between task force members and their countries. Assistant United States Attorney Matthew G. Morris is prosecuting the case.

The maximum statutory penalty for a violation of distribution of child pornography is 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted, the actual sentence will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.